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XzjhaMyra Stevens English 1301 10/9/17
Tombstone, Arizona
Established in 1877, by prospector, (explorer or miner), Ed Lawrence Schieffelin, Tombstone became one of the last boomtowns in the American frontier and one of the fastest developing towns of its time. Back in this time, silver was considered high in value, and difficult to find. People would constantly migrate from land to land in search of silver as a means to live. Ed Lawrence Schieffelin was well known for his sly sense of humor and bravery, which later evolved
Tombstone’s reputation. While searching for silver, or as Ed liked to call it: “looking for rocks”,
in camp Huachuca, companions of Ed warned him to be aware of Chiricahua Apache Indians.
Because Ed would constantly ignore their warnings, they would mock him by saying, “The only rock you will find is your Tombstone”. After the founding of his new land, Ed named the town
T
ombstone as a way to mock his peers. Tombstone later became popular for its “tough” motto
similar to that of Ed Shiefflein.
I could not find further information behind Schieffelin’s reason for building Tombstone,
but I assume Ed founded the town to make money. People would migrate to areas where silver
was present, so that they would be able to afford the cost of living. Schiefflelin’s position did
not exempt him from these costs, so he invested his findings into Tombstone to make a profit from the townspeople.
Tombstone was built entirely by Ed Schieffelin’s brother, Al Schieffelin. Al constructed
the town by hand with adobe mud. Tombstone is composed of three churches, three museums, two governing halls, two saloons, a visiting center, a fire house, a mine, and a bar/hotel, and Ed
Shieffelin’s monument. Tombstone later developed two cemeteries that with holds several
history icons, such as Earp brothers, Doc Holiday, and over 300 past residents of Tombstone. The O.K. Corral was both a bar and hotel, that was home to all the townspeople of Tombstone. Every cowboy gathered at the O.K. Corral to play poker, trade goods, drink beer, and settle their differences outside. This building holds remembrance of one of the most famous battles that took place in Arizona. Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan Earp were brothers who packed up their sheriff badges and moved into Tombstone to start a new life. During their time in Tombstone, the brothers befriended a doctor by the name, Doc Holiday, who also moved to Tombstone to cure his tuberculosis. The four men encountered many crimes from five outlaws, the McLaury brothers, the Clanton brothers, and Billy Claiborne. These men have been terrorizing the town, and Wyatt felt an urge to stop them. The four lawmen and outlaws made their mark in history with their famous gunfight in front of the O.K. Corral. With four of the outlaws dead, one outlaw taken into custody, and three of the lawmen wounded, the lawmen became saviors of the town.
Thus, proving the phrase, “the town too tough to die”.
The gun battle that took place in front of the O.K Corral was witnessed by many, but has several versions of how the battle actually happened. Wyatt Earp is said to have his sheriff gene
kick in, and he, along with the other three lawmen decided to stop the outlaws from disturbing more Tombstone residents. Other individuals believe the gun fight battle actually took place in an area around the O.K. Corral, and not necessarily in front of it. Others also believe that the outlaws of Tombstone had decided to leave town quiet, and peacefully, but Wyatt Earp harassed and murdered the outlaws. The O.K. Corral was burned down shortly after the gunfight had taken place. Who burned the bar down still remains a mystery today. Many feel that whoever burned the bar down was trying to hide evidence and believe that it holds the answer to whether Wyatt Earp and the gang really were murderers. Tombstone is now a large tourist exhibit, because of the Hollywood movie,
“Tombstone”. The movie was filmed in Tombstone, Ariz
ona and is believed to have used real residents of Arizona as its extras. The actors include: Val Kilmer (Doc Holiday), Bill Paxton (Morgan Earp), Sam Elliott (Virgil Earp), and leading star, Kurt Russell (Wyatt Earp). I visited Tombstone, Arizona during the summer of 2014. The residents of Arizona today,
really want to preserve Tombstone’s old traditions. Residents dress up like cowboys and
maidens, or as famous history icons and re-enact the battles and story of Tombstone. I like this idea, because it aids in passing down this legendary story. It makes story telling a little easier because you can watch it before your eyes and put yourself in the old American Frontier of the 1800s. I did not really interview anyone, however, I did speak with the re-enactors of the four lawmen, to get a better understanding of the story, and their story seemed to be a lot closer to that of the movie and web articles, rather than stories told by word of mouth. I participated in just about all the activities Tombstone has to offer. The only activity I did not participate in due to my lack to meet the age requirement, was the ghost tour of the Birdcage Theater. Both my
Works Cited
●
Tombstone Arizona Information. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2017, from https://tombstoneweb.com/
●
J. (2003, January). Thirty Cents and a Hunch.
Tombstone Times
. Retrieved October, 2017, from https://www.tombstonetimes.com/stories/ed.html
●
The Earps shoot it out at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2017, from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-earps-shoot-it-out-at-the-ok-corral-
in-tombstone-arizona
●
Traywick, B. T. (n.d.). Tombstone's Cemetery: Boothill. Retrieved from https://www.historynet.com/tombstones-cemetery-boothill.htm
●
Tefertiller, C., & Morey, J. (n.d.). Wild West.
O.K Corral: A Gunfight Shrouded in Mystery
.
●
The History of Tombstone. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2017, from https://www.tombstoneaz.net/the-history-of-tombstone.html
●
Intense real time spirit communication, Birdcage Theater. Tombstone, Arizona
[Video file]. (2013, June 18). Retrieved from https://youtu.be/mCJmA9_C3N8
